Monday, January 14, 2013

Woulda Coulda Shoulda Didda

I’m always beating myself up
over the pictures I didn’t take when
I had the chance. Well, here’s myself another chance I almost gave myself to do
it again past weekend.

I was prowling the downtown
Norfolk waterfront Saturday morning. I’d gone there to shoot photos of the harbor
while it was shrouded in dense fog. I got a good hour of shooting in before the
sun finally started to burn off the fog.

Satisfied with my photo haul for
the morning, I was on my way back to my car when I noticed this couple roll by (illegally)
on the Riverwalk and stop at the landing for the Elizabeth River Ferry, a
pedestrian-only vessel that carries people back and forth between the cities of
Norfolk and Portsmouth.

At first I didn’t pay much
attention to them. The young lady dismounted and stood beside the guy. I
assumed she was there to catch the ferry. Then I noticed the driver taking off
his helmet, revealing the cap shown underneath. I couldn’t hear what they were
saying. From a distance, though, the body language spoke of hostility.

Normally I’d have kept on
walking. But then I noticed the “Sons of Anarchy Virginia” hoodie. If you’re a
fan of the FX Channel’s “Sons of Anarchy” motorcycle gang soap opera, you’ll
know that guys who wear the “Sons” patch aren’t to be messed with, at least in the
fictional California town of Charming. (Yes, Charming.)

The further I got from the
couple the more I started kicking myself for not having photographed them. I decided
that I couldn’t let this moment pass and turned around. As I got close enough
for them to be conscious of me, they stopped their arguing temporarily. The
young man looked up at me with an expression of contempt. But I pushed on and told
him I’d noticed his “Sons” hoodie and wondered if I could photograph him
wearing it. The look of contempt disappeared and he was extremely polite in
telling that he couldn’t be photographed. “The law, you know,” as if I’d
understand.

(Why is it I seem to be drawn to people on the
lam?)

The young man did tell me,
however, that I could photograph the hoodie as long as his face wasn’t visible.
So I quickly jumped around behind them and took this shot. I’d like to have
taken more shots from other angles. But the young lady made it clear to me that
she wanted to resolve whatever argument they’d been having before the ferry
arrived. I thanked them and moved on.

I didn’t really consider the
young man to be much of a menace. The “real” Sons of Anarchy—you know, the ones
on the fictitious TV show—ride giant Harleys rather than little Japanese rice
rockets and wear leather jackets with real patches instead of hoodies that
probably come from the mall.

But it seemed to be important to
the young man that I know that he’s a certified badass.“It’s
a real club, you know,” he called to me as I walked away.